Thursday Thriller: Woman Dies in the Electric Chair Over a Hog?

Although not the first to hear the words, "Death by Electrocution,", Sue LOGUE was the first woman to actually be electrocuted January 15, 1943, in South Carolina.

In short, one alleged argument over a hog led to the first shooting of Wallace LOGUE.  The shooter, Davis TIMMERMAN, pled self defense and the court agreed.  The next murder was that of TIMMERMAN by relatives of LOGUE who had hired Clarence BAGWELL to do the dirty deed.

Jan 1, 1951

Just reading the article and seeing the eight deaths mentioned over something so trivial as an alleged disagreement over a hog just makes me shake my head in wonder.

Ahh, genealogy.  With neighbors who kill over a hog, the question must be asked.  What was so special about that hog?

Source:
https://dspace.ychistory.org/bitstream/handle/11030/71482/00001594.pdf?sequence=1

©2016 ASEldredge

Those Places Thursday: Wettest Spot in the Nation is Western Pennsylvania

Wettest?  No, no, not the weather.  Twas called the wettest spot in the nation during Prohibition.

Reading articles from the past are so enlightening on the subject which was greatly debated during its time.  Transcriptions of some of the articles have been completed and can be seen on the Pittsburgh Old Newspapers Project site.

Whether or not you have your roots in Western PA, these articles provide a glimpse in to our country's past- complete with raids, arrests, headless bodies, scandals, murders and more.  Included in the articles are lots of names of Pittsburgh area residents who ran afoul of the law of the day.

Just one example is found over a number of days starting with the Apr 2, 1930 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article:

HEADLESS BODY OF GANGSTERS' VICTIM FOUND
Jammed Into Barrel and Rolled Over Hillside
Racketeers' Vengeance
Murder Makes 51st Killing in 51 Months in City, 78th in County.

Pittsburgh racket killers chalked up their fifty-first murder in 51 months in defense of their concessions yesterday. It brings the total of racket murders in Allegheny county to 78 for the same period.
The headless, mutilated body of the latest gang victim was found packed in a barrel along Grine run, Penn township, shortly before 5 o'clock last night.
County detectives, familiar with racket feuds declared last night that the barrel murder likely was in retaliation for the recent killing of Sam Monastero, corn sugar baron, garroted with his own necktie and left dead in his automobile along Jacks Run. Sam's killing followed by a few months the slaying of his brother Steve Monastero, king of the moonshine racket, who was credited with being the moving force behind more than a score of racket killings.

Head Is Missing
The head of the fifty-first victim is missing. The slayers ruthlessly slashed strips of flesh from the arm and shoulder of the dead man which detectives believed bore a tattoo mark, in order to hamper identification. The body was nude so that no telltale piece of clothing might aid detectives in establishing identity.
An examination showed that he had put up a furious struggle to save himself. Practically his entire body was discolored with bruises. The head was severed about an inch above the shoulders.

Slain In City.
The man, an Italian about 30 years old, 5 feet 5 inches tall, and weighting about 130 po9unds, was apparently slain in the city, detectives said. Aside from the newspapers, on which finger prints may be found, detectives admitted they were without a tangible clue. One of the papers was of Monday, this week.
The corpse was taken to where it was found either late Monday night or early yesterday, it was learned. It was seen by Mrs. H. E. Damp, who resides a short distance away, at 6:30 o'clock yesterday morning. Mrs. Damp said she mentioned to her 11-year-old son that the barrel could be used for kindling and asked him to get it. However, the son neglected to do so.

Rolled From Road.
Thomas Kirk, 22, of 318 Forty-Fifth street, who was taking a short cut through the wooded section on his way home made the discovery.........

Read more about the thriller case and its final solution.


Ahh, genealogy.  Just keep reading about the past and how wild those places which we hold near and dear could be. 

Sources:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=67VhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=v2gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4399,1675718&dq=steve+monastero&hl=en
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~paallent/page15/page15.html

©2016 ASEldredge

Thursday Thriller: Slain Over a Grudge

Looking at the headlines of today with all the crimes and murders can leave us so very saddened.  Why do folks just have to be so violent?  Good thing the past was always so peaceful.....or was it?

Here's a story about a family grudge gone wrong in 1894.

Ouch.. shot and the body was left for hours until the inquest?  It would appear that J A Coward was indicted for the murder of Madison Connell (1852-1894).  Well, it wasn't the first time he was in trouble.  According to church records, JA Coward was "in trouble" in 1892 for not supporting his church.  He asked to be dropped from the rolls when questioned by the Hebron Baptist Church in South Carolina.

The death of Connell left a widow, Mary E Myers Connell (1849-1918) and three children.

Both men now rest in the same cemetery at the church of their family.  I wonder how close they are in proximity?

Ahh, genealogy. Gotta inspect both sides of the fence when looking at history.

Source: 
The Florence Weekly Times, November 1894.
FindaGrave.com  Hebron Baptist Church Cemetery, Florence Co, SC

©2016 ASEldredge